«The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% in May, slightly below the April high of 14.7%, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics»

«Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, called the jobs numbers “shocking” and “for the first time this year it was a positive shock.”»

«The leisure and hospitality sector saw an increase of 1.2 million jobs in May after losses of 7.5 million jobs in April»

«Food and drinking places gained 1.4 million jobs last month after losing more than 6 million jobs in March and April combined»

«Employment in construction increased by 464,000 in May, gaining back almost half of the jobs lost in April»

«Meanwhile, employment in retail rose by 368,000 last month but lost more than 2 million jobs in April»

* * * * * * *

«Economists had expected the unemployment rate to be even worse in May, rising to nearly 20%. But the gradual reopening of the economy actually added new jobs rather than eliminating further positions» [Cnn]

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% in May, slightly below the April high of 14.7%, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The numbers represent a much more optimistic view for the economy moving forward. President Donald Trump tweeted after the report was released, writing, “Really Big Jobs Report. Great going President Trump (kidding but true)!”

While the unemployment figures may be lower than expected, economists warn they are still at devastating highs.

“Although today’s report feels like a relief for many, it’s important to remember the labor market still faces an unemployment rate at the highest level since the Great Depression with tens of millions of Americans still out of work,” Glassdoor senior economist Daniel Zhao said in a commentary Friday morning. “While the labor market may be on the path to recovery, there is still a long way to go until the labor market returns to pre-crisis levels and makes up for lost growth.”

Chris Zaccarelli, the chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, called the jobs numbers “shocking” and “for the first time this year it was a positive shock.”

“At 13.3%, we are still at a higher rate than any that we hit during the Financial Crisis in 2007-2009, but as long as that continues to move lower, it will show that the re-opening of the economy is proceeding smoothly,” he added.

Some of the most notable job gains in May occurred in leisure and hospitality, construction and retail trade as those sectors begin to reopen.

“These improvements in the labor market reflected a limited resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it,” the government said in its news release Friday.

The leisure and hospitality sector saw an increase of 1.2 million jobs in May after losses of 7.5 million jobs in April. Food and drinking places gained 1.4 million jobs last month after losing more than 6 million jobs in March and April combined.

Employment in construction increased by 464,000 in May, gaining back almost half of the jobs lost in April. Meanwhile, employment in retail rose by 368,000 last month but lost more than 2 million jobs in April.

The accommodation industry, however, lost 148,000 jobs last month and 1.1 million jobs in total since February.

Some economists are still taking a more measured outlook on the economy.

“As the economy reopens a lot of the jobs aren’t going to come back right away. A lot of people are still trying to figure out … how do they operate it safely and in compliance,” Karen Kimbrough, the chief economist at LinkedIn, told ABC News. “And they may not need as many people or they may need different types of people.”

Jasmine Wright, a small business owner from Akron, Ohio, who was able to reopen her clothing boutique last Friday, said sales are still down despite reopening.

“COVID has affected my business with a lot of sale,” Wright told ABC News. “I went from being open every day into just not being able to open at all not being able to engage with my customers.”

«The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has made large investments weaponizing laser technology for air defense. Despite billions of dollars spent, there has not been a successful transition of a high-energy laser (HEL) weapon from the lab to the field. Is the dream of a low-cost-per-shot, deep-magazine, speed-of-light HEL weapon an impossible dream or a set of technologies that are ready to emerge on the modern battlefield? Because of the rapid revolution taking place in modern warfare that is making conventional defensive weapons very expensive relative to the offensive weapons systems, the pull for less expensive air defense may necessitate a HEL weapon system. Also, due to the recent technological developments in solid-state lasers (SSL), especially fiber lasers, used throughout manufacturing for cutting and welding, a HEL weapon finally may be able to meet all the requirements of ease of use, sustainability, and reliability. Due to changes in warfare and SSL technology advances, the era of HEL weapons isn’t over; it may be just starting if DoD takes an evolutionary approach to fielding a HEL weapon. The U.S. Navy, with its large ships and their available electric power, should lead the way.» [Optical Engineering52(2): 1008- · February 2013]

* * * * * * *

«The US successfully tested a laser weapon that can destroy aircraft mid-flight»

«A US Navy warship has successfully tested a new high-energy laser weapon that can destroy aircraft mid-flight, the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said in a statement Friday»

«Images and videos provided by the Navy show the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland executing “the first system-level implementation of a high-energy class solid-state laser” to disable an aerial drone aircraft»

«The images show the laser emanating from the deck of the warship. Short video clips show what appears to be the drone burning»

«The power of the weapon was not disclosed, but a 2018 report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies said it was expected to be a 150-kilowatt laser»

«With this new advanced capability, we are redefining war at sea for the Navy»

«The Navy says lasers, which it calls directed energy weapons (DEW), can be effective defenses against drones or armed small boats»

«We don’t worry about wind, we don’t worry about range, we don’t worry about anything else. We’re able to engage the targets at the speed of light.»

*

A US Navy warship has successfully tested a new high-energy laser weapon that can destroy aircraft mid-flight, the Navy’s Pacific Fleet said in a statement Friday.

Images and videos provided by the Navy show the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland executing “the first system-level implementation of a high-energy class solid-state laser” to disable an aerial drone aircraft, the statement said.

The images show the laser emanating from the deck of the warship. Short video clips show what appears to be the drone burning.

The Navy did not give a specific location of the laser weapons system demonstrator (LWSD) test, saying only that it occurred in the Pacific on May 16.

The power of the weapon was not disclosed, but a 2018 report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies said it was expected to be a 150-kilowatt laser.

“By conducting advanced at sea tests against UAVs and small crafts, we will gain valuable information on the capabilities of the Solid State Laser Weapons System Demonstrator against potential threats,” Capt. Karrey Sanders, commanding officer of Portland, said in the statement.

“With this new advanced capability, we are redefining war at sea for the Navy.”

The Navy says lasers, which it calls directed energy weapons (DEW), can be effective defenses against drones or armed small boats.

“The Navy’s development of DEWs like the LWSD provide immediate warfighter benefits and provide the commander increased decision space and response options,” the statement said.

At the time, Lt. Cale Hughes, a laser weapons system officer, described how they work.

“It is throwing massive amounts of photons at an incoming object,” Hughes said. “We don’t worry about wind, we don’t worry about range, we don’t worry about anything else. We’re able to engage the targets at the speed of light.”

The Ponce was retired from service later that year.

*

Raytheon Co., a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government, and cybersecurity solutions, delivered the first high-energy laser counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) to the U.S. Air Force earlier this month. The Air Force will deploy the system overseas as part of a year-long experiment, to test the system’s efficacy in real-world conditions and to train operators.

Raytheon’s high-energy laser weapon system uses an advanced variant of the company’s multispectral targeting system (MTS) — an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor — to detect, identify, and track combative drones. Once targeted, the system engages with and neutralizes the aircraft in seconds.

“Five years ago, few people worried about the drone threat,” said Roy Azevedo, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. “Now, we hear about attacks or incursions all the time. Our customers saw this coming and asked us to develop a ready-now counter-UAS capability. We did just that by going from the drawing board to delivery in less than 24 months.”

Raytheon installed its high-energy laser weapon system (HELWS) on a small all-terrain vehicle. On a single charge from a standard 220-V outlet, the HELWS can deliver intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability, and dozens of precise laser shots. Paired with a generator, it can provide an almost unlimited number of shots.

Raytheon is integrating multiple proven technologies to counter UAS dangers across a wide range of targets, such as commercial airports, forward operating bases, and crowded stadiums. Raytheon’s portfolio of sensors, command and control (C2) systems, and kinetic and nonkinetic effectors offers effective defenses against the various threats posed by UASs.

Si noti come i ‘covered employment’ siano 145,671,710 posizioni.

*

«Transmission of materials in this release is embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (Eastern) Thursday, June 4, 2020»

«In the week ending May 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 1,877,000, a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 3,000 from 2,123,000 to 2,126,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,284,000, a decrease of 324,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 750 from 2,608,000 to 2,608,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 14.8 percent for the week ending May 23, an increase of 0.5 percentage point from the previous week’s revised rate. The previous week’s rate was revised down by 0.2 from 14.5 to 14.3 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 23 was 21,487,000, an increase of 649,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 214,000 from 21,052,000 to 20,838,000. The 4-week moving average was 22,446,250, a decrease of 222,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 53,500 from 22,722,250 to 22,668,750.»

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2020-05-30.

«The growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) is a key indicator of economic activity, but the official estimate is released with a delay. Our GDPNow forecasting model provides a “nowcast” of the official estimate prior to its release by estimating GDP growth using a methodology similar to the one used by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

GDPNow is not an official forecast of the Atlanta Fed. Rather, it is best viewed as a running estimate of real GDP growth based on available data for the current measured quarter. There are no subjective adjustments made to GDPNow—the estimate is based solely on the mathematical results of the model. In particular, it does not capture the impact of COVID-19 beyond its impact on GDP source data and relevant economic reports that have already been released. It does not anticipate the impact of COVID-19 on forthcoming economic reports beyond the standard internal dynamics of the model.

Recent forecasts for the GDPNow model are available here. More extensive numerical details—including underlying source data, forecasts, and model parameters—are available as a separate spreadsheet. You can also view an archive of recent commentaries from GDPNow estimates.

Please note that as of May 8, you can view the GDPNow data through the EconomyNow app or on our website. The Atlanta Fed will no longer support the standalone GDPNow app. More information about EconomyNow is available on the Atlanta Fed’s website. Atlanta Fed data and tools are also available on the website.

Latest estimate: -51.2 percent — May 29, 2020

The GDPNow model estimate for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the second quarter of 2020 is -51.2 percent on May 29, down from -40.4 percent on May 28. After this morning’s Advance Economic Indicators report from the U.S. Census Bureau and personal income and outlays release from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the nowcast of second-quarter real personal consumption expenditures growth decreased from -43.3 percent to -56.5 percent and the nowcast of the contribution of change in real net exports to second-quarter real GDP growth decreased from 2.07 percentage points to 0.73 percentage points.»

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2020-05-29.

Il Presidente Trump ha emesso il seguente Ordine Esecutivo.

«By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section1. Policy. Free speech is the bedrock of American democracy. Our Founding Fathers protected this sacred right with the First Amendment to the Constitution. The freedom to express and debate ideas is the foundation for all of our rights as a free people.

In a country that has long cherished the freedom of expression, we cannot allow a limited number of online platforms to hand pick the speech that Americans may access and convey on the internet. This practice is fundamentally un-American and anti-democratic. When large, powerful social media companies censor opinions with which they disagree, they exercise a dangerous power. They cease functioning as passive bulletin boards, and ought to be viewed and treated as content creators.

The growth of online platforms in recent years raises important questions about applying the ideals of the First Amendment to modern communications technology. Today, many Americans follow the news, stay in touch with friends and family, and share their views on current events through social media and other online platforms. As a result, these platforms function in many ways as a 21st century equivalent of the public square.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube wield immense, if not unprecedented, power to shape the interpretation of public events; to censor, delete, or disappear information; and to control what people see or do not see.

As President, I have made clear my commitment to free and open debate on the internet. Such debate is just as important online as it is in our universities, our town halls, and our homes. It is essential to sustaining our democracy.

Online platforms are engaging in selective censorship that is harming our national discourse. Tens of thousands of Americans have reported, among other troubling behaviors, online platforms “flagging” content as inappropriate, even though it does not violate any stated terms of service; making unannounced and unexplained changes to company policies that have the effect of disfavoring certain viewpoints; and deleting content and entire accounts with no warning, no rationale, and no recourse. ….»

*

«US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at removing some of the legal protections given to social media platforms.

It gives regulators the power to pursue legal actions against firms such as Facebook and Twitter for the way they police content on their platforms.

President Trump accused social media platforms of having “unchecked power” while signing the order.

The order is expected to face legal challenges.

Legal experts says the US Congress or the court system must be involved to change the current legal understanding of protections for these platforms.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2020-05-27.

«The Coronavirus Is Deadliest Where Democrats Live»

«there are starkly different realities for red and blue America right now»

«the losses have been especially acute along its coasts, in its major cities, across the industrial Midwest, and in New York City»

«The devastation, in other words, has been disproportionately felt in blue America, which helps explain why people on opposing sides of a partisan divide that has intensified in the past two decades are thinking about the virus differently»

«Democrats are far more likely to live in counties where the virus has ravaged the community, while Republicans are more likely to live in counties that have been relatively unscathed by the illness, though they are paying an economic price»

«Counties won by President Trump in 2016 have reported just 27 percent of the virus infections and 21 percent of the deaths — even though 45 percent of Americans live in these communities»

«The very real difference in death rates has helped fuel deep disagreement over the dangers of the pandemic and how the country should proceed»

«Why has the virus slammed some parts of the country so much harder than others?»

«Part of the answer is population density.»

«In some parts of red America, cities have been virtually unscathed and the sparsely populated outlying areas have been hardest hit»

«Alabama had experienced 11 deaths per 100,000 residents and New Jersey had lost 122 per 100,000. Both states have had a huge spike in unemployment claims»

«Over all, the infection rate is 1.7 times as high in the most urban areas of the country compared with nearby suburbs, and 2.3 times as high in the suburbs as in exurban and rural areas»

«Some of those outbreaks are hitting subsets of the population that historically have not voted for Republicans. In Iowa, for example, Latinos make up 6 percent of the population but nearly a third of those infected. The population is 4 percent black, but 12 percent of those infected are black.»

«Over all, African-Americans and Latinos have had higher infection and death rates from the virus, and are far more likely to identify as Democrats than as Republicans»

«the underlying data they collect shows less social distancing in counties that supported Mr. Trump than in those that supported Hillary Clinton …. But instead they found that Republicans were more skeptical about the effectiveness of social distancing than Democrats and have been traveling more outside their homes»

Stesso ragionamento per il mantenimento delle distanza di sicurezza.

*

Beyond perception and ideology, there are starkly different realities for red and blue America right now.

The staggering American death toll from the coronavirus, now approaching 100,000, has touched every part of the country, but the losses have been especially acute along its coasts, in its major cities, across the industrial Midwest, and in New York City.

The devastation, in other words, has been disproportionately felt in blue America, which helps explain why people on opposing sides of a partisan divide that has intensified in the past two decades are thinking about the virus differently. It is not just that Democrats and Republicans disagree on how to reopen businesses, schools and the country as a whole. Beyond perception, beyond ideology, there are starkly different realities for red and blue America right now.

Democrats are far more likely to live in counties where the virus has ravaged the community, while Republicans are more likely to live in counties that have been relatively unscathed by the illness, though they are paying an economic price. Counties won by President Trump in 2016 have reported just 27 percent of the virus infections and 21 percent of the deaths — even though 45 percent of Americans live in these communities, a New York Times analysis has found.

The very real difference in death rates has helped fuel deep disagreement over the dangers of the pandemic and how the country should proceed. Right-wing media, which moved swiftly from downplaying the severity of the crisis to calling it a Democratic plot to bring down the president, has exacerbated the rift. And even as the nation’s top medical experts note the danger of easing restrictions, communities across the country are doing so, creating a patchwork of regulations, often along ideological lines.

Why has the virus slammed some parts of the country so much harder than others? Part of the answer is population density. Nearly a third of Americans live in one of the 100 most densely populated counties in the United States — urban communities and adjacent suburbs — and it is there the virus has taken its greatest toll, with an infection rate three times as high as the rest of the nation and a death rate four times as high.

In a country deeply segregated along racial, religious and economic lines, density also aligns with political divisions: Urban America tilts heavily blue. In the 2016 presidential election, Mr. Trump’s vote share increased as population density fell in almost every state.

But the divide in infections has been exacerbated by the path the virus has taken through the nation, which is not always connected to density. In some parts of red America, cities have been virtually unscathed and the sparsely populated outlying areas have been hardest hit. Researchers have also found links between the virus’s effects and age, race and the weather, and have noted that some of the densest cities globally have not been hit as hard.

If seeing is believing, the infection has simply come to some areas of the country on a far different scale than others. As of Friday, Alabama had experienced 11 deaths per 100,000 residents and New Jersey had lost 122 per 100,000. Both states have had a huge spike in unemployment claims.

Texas, solidly Republican territory and the second most populous state in the nation, had one of the country’s hottest economies before the outbreak. The state’s biggest cities have so far escaped the worst of the damage. More than 200 metro areas in the United States have higher infection rates than both Dallas and Houston, which may explain why Texas residents are particularly frustrated by the shutdown.

“The cure is worse than the disease, no doubt,” said Mark Henry, a Republican who oversees the Galveston County government in southeast Texas. “There are businesses that were shut down that are never going to open again.”

Over all, the infection rate is 1.7 times as high in the most urban areas of the country compared with nearby suburbs, and 2.3 times as high in the suburbs as in exurban and rural areas.

Amid the pandemic, there are densely populated red counties near major cities with high infection rates — Suffolk County in New York, Jefferson Parrish in Louisiana, and Monmouth County in New Jersey, for example.

But those are true outliers.

A recent spate of outbreaks in meat plants, prisons and nursing homes has created hot spots in 245 counties that supported Mr. Trump, double the number at the beginning of the month. Some of those outbreaks are hitting subsets of the population that historically have not voted for Republicans. In Iowa, for example, Latinos make up 6 percent of the population but nearly a third of those infected. The population is 4 percent black, but 12 percent of those infected are black.

Over all, African-Americans and Latinos have had higher infection and death rates from the virus, and are far more likely to identify as Democrats than as Republicans.

Several companies have studied social distancing metrics based on anonymized cellphone location data, including the mobility research firms Unacast and Descartes Labs. While the companies do not break down findings by political party, the underlying data they collect shows less social distancing in counties that supported Mr. Trump than in those that supported Hillary Clinton.

Rural and exurban county residents, who tend to favor Republicans, do have to travel more for essential services and are less likely to have jobs that allow for working from home. Yet even in more densely populated suburban areas, there was less evidence of social distancing in counties that voted for Mr. Trump.

Matthew Gentzkow, a Stanford University economist who is leading a group of researchers tracking partisanship in the virus response, said his team initially thought that a health crisis would minimize differences — assuming that people who disagree over taxes or guns would agree about a pandemic. But instead they found that Republicans were more skeptical about the effectiveness of social distancing than Democrats and have been traveling more outside their homes.

“We initially saw partisanship and thought maybe by the time we looked at the data it would be gone,” Dr. Gentzkow said. “But it turns out that no, this is pretty serious and what we see is that the gap got bigger and bigger. These are real belief differences that should have us really concerned.”

Public opinionpolls do show widespread support for stay-at-home orders, but also indicate that Republicans are less likely to see the virus as a significant threat to their health. Some skepticism around the impact of the pandemic can be traced to a distrust of the government that has grown among conservatives in the last decade, according to Arlie Hochschild, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of a 2016 book about the American right called “Strangers in Their Own Land.”

“In the absence of trust, you just believe your eyes and the information that you see in your Facebook feed,” she said.

The experience of residents in Texas underscores how much direct evidence of the virus’s toll has shaped how people view the measures taken to mitigate it.

At the onset of the crisis, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, tried to appeal to both sides of the political spectrum, allowing local governments to make their own decisions until Texas became one of the last states to issue stay-at-home orders and one of the first to roll them back last month.

In Hardin County in southeast Texas, where the population is about 57,000, there have been just 125 cases and five deaths. Kent Batman, 60, the county Republican chairman, who has spent his life in the region, said he had heard of only two fatalities, both of which he dismissed as anomalies.

To Mr. Batman, like many other Republicans in East Texas, the health crisis has felt far away, like a big city plague. “We’re not New Orleans, we’re just not like that,” he said.

Interviews with dozens of Republicans in southeast Texas and other parts of the country over the past month found a pervasive it’s-not-coming-for-my-neighborhood attitude, with many seeing themselves as a world apart from the regions that have been overwhelmed by the virus. They are enthusiastic backers of rolling back restrictions not just as a way to spur the economy, but also based on the belief that individuals should make their own decisions about risk. They dismiss factual reports from the news media as exaggerated and trying to incite panic, because the reports don’t align with their own experience.

Toward the end of March, Judy Nichols, 60, began monitoring charts daily to see how many people near her had the virus. She lives in Jefferson County, not far from Beaumont, and serves as the chair of the county Republican Party. After two weeks, she stopped keeping tabs on the numbers as her worry subsided.

Over the past several weeks, Ms. Nichols said, she has felt like the winner of a product lottery. She owns several Papa John’s pizza franchises, and business has increased nearly 80 percent — pizza in a time of anxiety seeming to be one thing many people can agree on. But nearly everyone she knows is struggling to pay the bills.

On the other side of the partisan divide in Texas, Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat and the top elected official in Harris County, which includes Houston, put in place stay-at-home orders before the governor did in March. Last week, she extended her “stay home, work safe” guidelines until June 10.

She is concerned about the economic impact. She just doesn’t see a safe alternative. “When you have a political system, there are going to be attacks,” she said. “But let’s debate the politics when this is over.”

im Meadows, a 60-year-old refrigeration parts repairman in Nederland, Texas, who describes himself as an “extreme conservative,” doesn’t think the economic question can be set aside. He is upset by the unemployment and financial devastation, which is clearer to him than what he called “this invisible plague.”

Through his work he has, however, begun taking orders for plexiglass partitions that many businesses around him want to use. He said he was “pandering to the uninformed.”

Rashell Collins Bridle, a 42-year-old mother of five who also lives in Nederland and makes her living selling items on eBay, said a minister she knew had died after contracting the virus. Even so, she said she and her friends were more focused on freedom than on health.

“I guess other people expect us to set our futures on fire to keep their fear warm,” she said. “I think that’s incredibly selfish — if you’re that fearful, then just stay home.”

For Professor Hochschild, who studies division, sentiments like this in a crisis reinforce what she has seen across the country.

“There is an underlying stoicism that was there before the pandemic that is really getting tapped,” she said. “There’s a notion of snowflake liberals who can’t take it, who are too dainty and fragile and not hearty like us.”

On the first weekend that Texas lifted the stay-at-home orders, Ms. Bridle took her family to a state park on the Gulf of Mexico. She said American flags were flying from many cars and trucks on the road “as if it were the Fourth of July.”

She said that if schools open with hefty restrictions on recess or how far desks must be spaced together, she will instead place her daughter in a Christian home school co-op.

And if there is another stay-at-home order this year?

“We probably won’t stand for that again,” she said. “I myself won’t comply. I will never comply with anything else like this ever. ”

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2020-05-26.

«Nearly 1 in 4 New Yorkers Needs Food»

«Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of people out of work, nearly one in four New Yorkers needs food»

«To address the problem, the city plans to increase to 1.5 million the number of meals it distributes each day by next week, officials said, with a million to be delivered and 500,000 available for pickup at schools»

«As a result of the pandemic, …. we think that number is two million or more. So almost a doubling. That’s why we have made food such as central part of what we do in response to this crisis.»

«The city has been expanding its food-distribution efforts for weeks and has given out 32 million meals during the crisis»

Sono dati questi che dovrebbero dare molto cui pensare.

*

Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of people out of work, nearly one in four New Yorkers needs food, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.

To address the problem, the city plans to increase to 1.5 million the number of meals it distributes each day by next week, officials said, with a million to be delivered and 500,000 available for pickup at schools.

Before the virus hit, Mr. de Blasio said, officials believed that “somewhere over a million” city residents “were food-insecure, needed food more, at some point in the year.”

As a result of the pandemic, he said, “we think that number is two million or more. So almost a doubling. That’s why we have made food such as central part of what we do in response to this crisis.”

The city has been expanding its food-distribution efforts for weeks and has given out 32 million meals during the crisis, the mayor said.

Kathryn Garcia, the top city official in charge of delivering food, said the city had terminated some food vendors for poor performance.

“‘Would you serve this to your grandma?’” city officials asked food vendors, according to Ms. Garcia. “We will hold people accountable.”

Separately, families of New York City public school students will soon get more than $400 per student, regardless of income, to help pay for food while school buildings are closed through a federal relief program.

«As Covid-19 Hits Electric Vehicles, Some Thrive, Others Die.»

«In the U.S., however, electric vehicle sales will slow drastically in the coming months as policy support weakens and cash-strapped automakers refocus on their most profitable products, namely gas-burning trucks and SUVs.»

«But that adoption rate is about to get very different between different countries.»

«In the U.S., electric vehicles sales will shrink to just 1.7% of the personal auto market in 2021»

«At the same time, the sector will swell to 8.1% of all sales in China, which accounts for the largest share of global EV sales, and 5% of those in Europe»

«Gas-powered vehicles will still comprise more than half of global auto sales for years to come»

«I think it would be naive to believe after some months, everything will return to normal and our customers will come back into a showroom asking for diesel cars»

«It assumes a second wave of Covid-19 casualties and does not expect global auto sales to recover for five years, forecasting a dip in total miles driven to last until 2023»

«Globally, the forecast calls for 1 in 10 autos sold to be battery-powered by 2025, some 8.5 million machines.»

«Only 13% of those vehicles, however, will be in the U.S., the world’s second-largest car market»

«Federal tax credits of up to $7,500 on battery-powered units are quickly expiring as individual auto brands top sales thresholds»

*

China and Europe will accelerate EV plans, while the U.S. taps the brakes.

Electric vehicles generally don’t coast; they are designed either to accelerate or brake at any given time. The electric vehicle market is much the same.

The pandemic ravaged economy is expected to give electric vehicles a boost in China, Europe and countries committed to sparking battery power via financial stimulus and infrastructure spending, according to a forecast released today by BloombergNEF, Bloomberg LP’s primary research service on energy transition. In the U.S., however, electric vehicle sales will slow drastically in the coming months as policy support weakens and cash-strapped automakers refocus on their most profitable products, namely gas-burning trucks and SUVs.

“EV adoption is probably going to keep rising and not even dip, which is quite remarkable,” said BNEF head of advanced transport Colin McKerracher, the lead author on the long-term forecast, which assesses the market from now to 2040. “But that adoption rate is about to get very different between different countries.”

In the U.S., electric vehicles sales will shrink to just 1.7% of the personal auto market in 2021. At the same time, the sector will swell to 8.1% of all sales in China, which accounts for the largest share of global EV sales, and 5% of those in Europe, the BNEF report says.

Gas-powered vehicles will still comprise more than half of globalauto sales for years to come, but the market has already peaked, according to BNEF. Worldwide, we will never buy as many traditional cars and trucks as we did in 2017.

Volvo hopes to get half of its sales from electric vehicles within five years. If anything, the pandemic has turbocharged those aspirations, according to Chief Executive Officer Hakan Samuelsson. “I think it would be naive to believe after some months, everything will return to normal and our customers will come back into a showroom asking for diesel cars,” Samuelsson said at a digital conference on May 14. “They will ask even more for electric cars, and that is speeding up.”

General Motors, meanwhile, is still figuring out when to unveil two new electric models, the GMC Hummer and Cadillac Lyriq. Its engineers are largely homebound. Still, the company’s timeline on battery-powered products is unchanged, according to Ken Morris, GM’s vice president for electric and autonomous vehicles. “We haven’t lost a beat,” Morris said on a conference call May 12.

Although the pandemic hasn’t totaled a number of the most anticipated electric vehicles heading to market, it no doubt has affected decisions as to how many of those machines will be made and where they will be sold.

BNEF’s forecast, as with most outlooks of late, is far from sanguine. It assumes a second wave of Covid-19 casualties and does not expect global auto sales to recover for five years, forecasting a dip in total miles driven to last until 2023. Yet, BNEF expects electric vehicles to weather the downturn better than gas-powered cars and trucks. Globally, the forecast calls for 1 in 10 autos sold to be battery-powered by 2025, some 8.5 million machines.

Only 13% of those vehicles, however, will be in the U.S., the world’s second-largest car market. Federal tax credits of up to $7,500 on battery-powered units are quickly expiring as individual auto brands top sales thresholds. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pushing to dial back emissions mandates and is challenging states that are trying to enforce their own such mandates.

Europe and China, meanwhile, may further juice electric vehicle sales as they spend to stimulate their coronavirus-crushed economies. Public charging stations, in particular, could get a boost, according to BNEF, particularly as evidence grows that coronavirus casualty rates are closely linked to air quality.

“The places that lean more towards this stuff anyway are going to put in place stimulus that supports it,” McKerracher said. “You can definitely see a scenario where Europe says: ‘This is the chance to really go for it.’”

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– Hertz filed for bankruptcy Friday night after failing to reach an agreement with lenders, The Wall Street Journal first reported Friday.

– Hertz has around $19 billion in debt, including $4.3 billion in corporate bonds and loans as well as $14.4 billion of debt backed by their vehicles, according to The Journal.

– The car-rental business has been decimated as the pandemic has ground travel to a halt, forcing Hertz’s CEO to resign as the company missed lease payments and laid off 10,000 workers last month.

– Hertz’s stock plunged in after-hours trading following the news.

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Car-rental giant Hertz filed for bankruptcy Friday night after it was unable to reach an agreement with its biggest lenders, The Wall Street Journal first reported.

Hertz filed for Chapter 11 protections in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, making it one of the largest corporate casualties of the coronavirus pandemic’s widespread economic fallout as travel restrictions decimate the rental car industry.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hertz has around $19 billion in debt, which includes roughly $4.3 billion in corporate bonds and loans as well as $14.4 billion of debt backed by the company’s fleet of vehicles, and lenders had asked the company for upfront payment on some of those obligations but couldn’t get it to agree, according to The Journal.

Hertz’s business had already been struggling even before the pandemic as it tried to fend off competition from other rental agencies as well as ride-hailing businesses like Uber and Lyft.

CEO Kathryn Marinello resigned last Saturday, and the company’s board of directors named Paul Stone, who previously served as the company’s executive vice president and chief retail operations officer for North America, to step in for Marinello.

Hertz, whose parent company, Hertz Global Holdings Inc., also owns rental brands Dollar and Thrifty, had said in a regulatory filing in April that it was considering seeking bankruptcy protections after it “did not make certain payments” on its operating lease. Hertz said it “could be materially and negatively impacted” if discussions with lenders to reduce those payments weren’t fruitful by the first week of May.

Hertz’s stock dropped by as much as 50% in after-hours trading following the The Wall Street Journal’s initial report that the company would file for bankruptcy on Friday night.